1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a volume control. More particularly, the present invention relates to a modular volume control and integrated circuit assembly for use in a hearing aid.
2. Description of the Prior Art
One of the largest costs of doing business encountered by hearing aid manufacturers is the cost associated with hearing aids which are returned. In fact, it is not uncommon for 20% of all hearing aids manufactured by any particular manufacturer to be returned. This is caused by several factors.
First, different users of hearing aids prefer different frequencies of sound to be amplified by the hearing aid. Since all hearing aids do not pass and amplify the exact same frequencies in the exact same manner, people who use hearing aids may prefer one hearing aid over another merely because the users prefer the way it sounds. Before actually using a hearing aid, there is no sure way that a user can tell if the sound of the hearing aid will be satisfactory.
A second factor which is responsible for a high number of hearing aids being returned is the fact that physically fitting a hearing aid to a particular user is not an exact science. Typically, the user of a hearing aid has a mold of their ear taken. In manufacturing a hearing aid, the manufacturer may or may not exactly duplicate the mold. Therefore, different hearing aids from different manufacturers may be more or less comfortable for the user even though the manufacturers all used the same mold.
For these reasons, before a user purchases a hearing aid, they typically order several different hearing aids from several different manufacturers. The user tries each of these hearing aids and keeps only the hearing aid which the user prefers based on sound, comfort and performance. The remaining hearing aids are returned to their respective manufacturers. This is a common and widely accepted practice in the hearing aid industry.
Hearing aids generally comprise a mold portion which contacts the users ear, a hearing aid faceplate and electronic components. The electronic components include a microphone for picking up sound, an amplifier for amplifying the sound, an on-off switch, a volume control which the user operates to control the volume of the sound, a speaker for providing the amplified sound to the user and a power source, such as a battery, for powering the hearing aid. The electronic components are typically assembled on the hearing aid faceplate using known assembly techniques such as soldering, glueing and heat staking. Once the electronic components are assembled on the hearing aid faceplate, the assembled faceplate is mounted in the mold portion to form a completed hearing aid.
In past hearing aids, each of the electronic components was a separate component which was separately assembled on the hearing aid faceplate. This made assembly very labor intensive and costly. Also, this made the cost of doing business due to returned hearing aids very high. Since each of these components were separate, salvaging them and reworking them into new hearing aid faceplates required a labor intensive process which was very costly.
In addition, the volume control component in past hearing aids was generally heat staked or glued into the hearing aid faceplate. This process required the use of solvents or glues which were potentially damaging to the volume control and other electronic components of the hearing aid.